Lightning strikes
by Defiant Nefelibata
Summary: She was saved by a combination of fate, circumstance, and of course her brothers. Despite all her differences, training to become a kunoich, and fighting the Shredder, she will do anything for her family. This is the story of how our favorite ninja clan find a sister, perhaps not by blood or mutation, but by choice and love. AU with an OC, our four favorite turtles and rat sensei.


**I swore that I wouldn't be one of those people. You know ****_those_**** people, the ones who start too many stories before they finish even one? Ya well guess what? I think I just joined the group. I currently have two transformers fics on the go, along with three Ninja Turtles stories including this one with two more brewing somewhere in the murky depths of my mind. I'm not talking about one shots here I mean full length stories, with too many words and not enough time. I can't seem to help it though (sigh) and I can't promise consistent updates. My inspiration is a fickle thing and constantly jumping between my many stories BUT I do promise I will finish anything I start. I will not be falling off the face of the earth and leaving you all hanging.**

**So, on a happier note welcome to my latest story! I've seen sister fics for the turtles before but I've had a few ideas and wanted to give it a try. Enjoy and don't forget to read and review!**

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><p>It's a well-known fact that the cruel and dangerous streets of New York are a hard place to live. There are many challenges for food, shelter and safety from the various muggers, who are always on the lookout for their next victim. However the black shadows of the dark alleyways don't always hide just the thugs and criminals. They are also the allies that help to conceal the vigilantes and heroes, or so they will someday. For now it's the dank sewer tunnels under the hazardous streets that hide away and keep safe a very unique family.<p>

It had been just a little over two years since Splinter and the turtles had been exposed to the ooze that had changed them. Yet to the elderly, giant mutated rat it didn't feel that long, mostly because his boys had grown so much, so quickly. They had begun walking and running around within their first year and very soon after that they began talking in full sentences. A lot of the time the trick was getting them to stop talking, particularly Michelangelo the (assumed) youngest, and Donatello. The pair of them were the most prone of the four to ask the questions why and how, and Splinter often found himself unable to answer their insatiable curiosity. The pair of eldest siblings Raphael and Leonardo, tended to squabble the most, particularly with each other. Theirs was not a very quiet home but Splinter much preferred the distraction of four noisy boys to unbearable silence and loneliness.

It was in a dimly lit, but mostly clean and dry, corner of the sewers where the little clan made their home. The area was dimly illuminated by a single bare electric bulb, a few out of the way candles and was fairly comfortable for being underground. Salvaged blankets and scavenged items dotted the space in messy piles around a small low table where Splinter was preparing to go above for another scavenge run. The wizened rat disliked leaving his four boys alone for long periods of time and stealing for their food, but it was necessary.

They had run out of perishables almost a week ago and their boxes of food were beginning to look decidedly bare. If Splinter didn't find some food tonight he and his family may have to go hungry until he did. He slung the small and mostly empty burlap sack over his shoulder, tightened his robe, and turned to the four small turtles watching him prepare. They only came just taller than Splinter's knee but to him seemed to grow as quickly as weeds.

"Do you remember the four rules my sons?"

The four turtles shared a look and nodded in unison, almost too seriously for how very young they were.

"Stay together." Mikey grinned, but his blue eyes showed the concern he never voiced when his father had to leave them for the dangers of topside.

"Stay in the home tunnel or inside." Raph muttered in a bored tone while rolling his amber orbs. Splinter had to hold back a grin at his second oldest sons seeming disinterest. The old rat knew that Raphael worried greatly for his family's safety while Splinter was away.

"If something happens we have to hide until you come back." Donatello recited perfectly all the while twiddling his six fingers together. As the most intelligent of his sons Splinter suspected Donatello worried the most while he was gone, because he could think up, imagine, and understand the worst-case situations.

"And look out for each other." Leonardo said dutifully. As the most mature of his brothers Leo had almost always been thought of as the oldest of the four, and as the eldest he was placed in charge while Splinter was gone. It was a heavy burden to place on one so young, even temporarily, but it was yet another unfortunate circumstance of their existence.

"Very well then." Splinter smiled and patted each of their heads as he passed. They followed him through the pile wooden pallets that made up their hidden doorway and to the end of what they had named the home tunnel. The four young turtles stopped at the end of the tunnel as they had been taught and Splinter paused for a moment to look back at them.

"I will return as soon as I can, stay safe my sons."

"Yes Master Splinter." They chorused all together.

And with that their master disappeared into the sewers, leaving them alone. Like every other time that Master Splinter left to go topside the four brothers lingered at the end of the tunnel for several minutes. Finally Raph turned to his brothers and asked the all-important question for four, unsupervised, two year old mutant turtles.

"So what do we do now?"

"Tag, you're it!" Michelangelo yelled as he slapped Raph's arm and darted away.

It wasn't long before a spirited game of tag had the tunnels echoing with childish giggles. The game traveled down the tunnel, past the hidden door to their home and toward a crossroad of service tunnels. Raph was 'it' once again and was determined to tag Mikey back for earlier. Mikey, being the smallest and fastest of his brothers, dashed ahead only to come to a stumbling halt when he reached the tunnel intersection. He could go no further without breaking the 'stay close to home' rule.

Mikey grinned as he heard Raph come running toward him and tensed playfully to see if he could dodge past his older brother in the narrow tunnel. He likely could have done it too, but he was momentarily distracted by a sound that came echoing down one of the service tunnels. Mikey was tackled full on by Raph and all but crushed under his weight. Raphael jumped up victoriously and smirked down at his still breathless little brother lying prone on the ground.

"Tag. You. Are . It." The amber eyed young turtle all but bragged, but Mikey wasn't listening to him.

With some difficulty Michelangelo managed to roll onto his plastron and stare down the sewer pipe he was sure he had heard the strange noise come from. Raph became a little worried when his brother didn't immediately jump up with a grin and instead lay quietly on the ground.

"Mikey, you ok? I didn't hurt ya that bad did I?"

The youngest turtle paused in his listening for the strange sound, and looked up from where he was lying to give his brother a smile and put him at ease.

"I'm fine, but didn't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

As if on cue a faint noise somewhere between a mewl and a wail came from the darker tunnel ahead of them. Surprised, the heads of both brothers snapped up to see where the sound was coming from, but whatever had made it was too far away. Raphael reached down and helped his brother up by grabbing the edge of his shell and placing him on his feet.

"What was that?" Mikey breathed, still staring at the tunnel trying to discern the sounds cause.

"Probably just some water." Raph stated but both of them knew that was a lie. While it was true that the sewers did make some very strange noises sometimes, this wasn't one of them. This sound wasn't one of rushing water, scraping metal or the rumbling of the subway overhead. It was a wordless cry for help from something very much alive.

"What do we do?" Mikey asked, at a bit of a loss as for what to do next and looking to his older brother for direction.

Raphael wasn't sure what to do either. He was curious to see where the noise was coming from, but that would mean breaking one of Splinters rules and wandering away from home. There was also the possibility that the sound could be coming from something dangerous. Splinter had warned them many times how unsafe it was to wander the sewers without him. There were many things that could happen to a two year old bipedal hominid turtle in the sewers of New York. However instead of walking away when the cry sounded again Raph grabbed his brothers' arm and pulled him forward.

"Come on."

They started down the beginning of the tunnel when Donny's voice behind them made them pause.

"What are you doing?"

Both Raph and Mikey looked back toward their brainy brother but only Mikey stopped walking, Raph continued marching forward. Donny and Leo were now standing at the mouth of the pipe, toeing an invisible line and looking at their brothers with surprised expressions. They had come over when to see what was going on when their brothers didn't come back from the crossroads and were shocked to see them breaking one of the four rules.

"There was a funny noise down the tunnel, we're going to go see what it is." Mikey grinned.

Before either of the elder turtles could react, Mikey dashed after Raph and they both began to fade into the darkness of the tunnel. Neither Donny nor Leo really knew what to do about this unexpected development and were slowly being left behind. It was Donny who took the first step over that intangible border to go after his brothers.

"Donny what are you doing?" Leo exclaimed and Donny paused and looked at his oldest brother.

"Master Splinter said to stay together." He deadpanned as if it was the obvious answer before turning and scampering after Raph and Mikey down the tunnel. Leo hesitated and looked back toward their home before breaking into a run after his siblings.

"He also said to stay close to home!" Leonardo yelled as he ran, but had little effect on his adventurous younger brothers.

The four young turtle tots marched in a little group with either Raph or Leo in the lead and the others following behind. Every now and then the strange sound would echo down the pipes and they would pause to listen to it before continuing their search for its source. The twisting tunnel and their little group came to a sudden halt when they reached a larger intersection of passageways. Several larger pipes branched away from their smaller one and the sound they had been following hadn't been heard for a while.

"Which one?" Asked Raph.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait until we hear the noise again." Leo said uncertainly but they all agreed it seemed like the best course of action.

They waited for several minutes in silence and even Mikey, who normally couldn't sit quietly if his life depended on it, was listening intently for the strange sound. When the noise finally did come again it was fainter even though they were closer, and echoed strangely through the pipes making it hard to tell which way it came from.

"It came from this one." Donatello said confidently while pointing down a tunnel to their left.

"Are you sure Donny?" Mikey asked uncertainly. It wasn't that he didn't have absolute confidence in his brother but he didn't want to get lost.

"I'm positive." The brainy brown eyed young turtle said and then took the lead into the tunnel, surprising bothers with his confidence.

They picked up their pace through the winding tunnels as the strange sound they were following came less and less frequent. After several minutes their little procession came to a stumbling halt once more, because this time they could finally go no further. The tunnel they had chosen had brought them to a storm drain that was swollen with rainwater and debris. A small, unsteady island of trash had clumped around a support pillar in the middle of the spillway surrounded by dirty rapids. They scanned around but the source of the sound they had been following was nowhere to be seen.

"I told you it was just some water making the noise." Raph groused to Mikey, who pouted petulantly at his older brother.

"Ya well, you were the one who left home tunnel first." Mikey whined.

"Was not."

"Was to."

The looming two year old squabble between siblings was suddenly diverted by the strange noise they had been following wailing weakly just behind them. The heads of all four turtle tots snapped toward the trash island that floated in the middle of the storm drain. The cry sounded again, this time coming from a soggy cardboard box that looked like it was about to fall apart on the edge of the garbage pile. The four youngsters stared at the problem in front of them at a loss. There was no direct path to the box, and the water was too deep and too fast to even dare to try and swim through. It was Leo who noticed the low hanging pipes that went across the ceiling and over the water.

"I think I have an idea. Raph, Donny, can you lift me?" Leo asked.

His brothers linked their hands and with their help Leo was able to reach the pipes and with a grunt lift himself up onto them. They were fairly wide but were a little wet and slimy with moisture, so balance was still a little precarious.

"Leo, are you sure you can do this?" Mikey asked anxiously, looking from his brother to the fast running water and back again.

"Yes, I… I think so?" Leo murmured uncertainly, but he was determined to get to the box.

It had been made apparent to all of them that whatever was in the box was alive, and whatever it was was in danger of drowning where it was now. With a shuddering exhale Leo carefully put one foot in front of the other, arms out wide for balance and slowly walked out over the water. His brothers could only watch nervously with bated breath from the edge of the water. Once Leo was over the box he crouched down and sat on the pipe, and by using his knees to hold on he was able to reach down with both arms and grab one soggy flap of the cardboard box.

The moisture made the waterlogged box heavy and fragile, and Leo feared for a moment that it was going to break and send the contents into the current. Much to all their relief the box held together and with some difficulty Leo was able to sit up again, on the pipe with the box safely in his arms. There was a tense moment on the journey back to shore in which Leonardo almost lost his balance. He could have opened his arms to catch himself, but he refused to risk his hold on the box. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief once Leo had leapt down from the overhanging pipes and touched down on the concrete. Leo gently set the box down before collapsing back onto his shell, breathing deeply to calm his racing heart.

"Are you ok Leo?"

Leonardo opened his eyes to see his three brothers leaning over him, making sure he was ok.

"Let's not do that again." Leo sighed, making Mikey giggle and Raph and Donny share a smile of relief.

A soft whine brought their attention back to the box, which shifted a little as whatever was inside tried to move. Mikey was the closest to it, so with a small shove of encouragement from Raph he cautiously stepped toward it. At first Michelangelo tried craning his neck to try and see inside without needing to touch it, but the wilting flaps of cardboard were in the way. Slowly, carefully, and ready to jump back at the first sign of trouble, Mikey reached forward and lifted the folds of cardboard.

"What is it?" Michelangelo whispered with wide eyes.

All four quickly forgot their caution and crowded around the box trying to get a good look inside. Within the box, wrapped loosely in a rough, dirty, and slightly wet green blanket was a tiny wiggling baby. A thatch of small black curls covered its head and its tiny clenched fists rubbed fitfully over its closed eyes. The four turtles were too young and inexperienced to realize that the tiny, wrinkly thing was little more than an infant and hardly even a few days old. The baby mewled piteously and reached blindly for some source of comfort and warmth. In an almost unconscious act Mikey placed one of his large fingers in its tiny hand and was surprised at the strong grip that latched onto him.

"What is it?" Mikey asked again, this time looking to his brothers for the answer with his finger still held tightly in the baby's hand.

"I don't know, but it's pretty ugly if ya ask me." Raph grumbled, he was disappointed that what they had found wasn't something a little more interesting.

"Well I think it's cute." Mikey defended.

"Well, then what is it?" Raph challenged.

"I think it's a baby." Muttered Donny, and he kneeled down to examine the infant and run his fingers through its soft curls. The babe fussed and gave a weak whine of protest when Donny withdrew his hand from its head.

"A baby what?" Leo asked, but Donny could only shrug in answer.

"Maybe Master Splinter will know." Declared Mikey.

This statement of course made them all realize just how far from home they were, and how much trouble they were going to be in.

"We need to go back." Leo said as he stood and looked back down the tunnel they had come through.

"What about the baby? We can't just leave it here." Said Mikey, alarmed by the thought.

"Don't worry Mikey, we'll being it with us." Donny reassured his little brother with a pat to the shell.

"What? An' how are we going to explain where it came from to Master Splinter?" Raphael demanded.

"We'll just have to think of something while we walk back." Leonardo sighed.

Mikey volunteered to carry the baby, which was a good thing because it didn't want to let go of his finger. However, once wrapped up more warmly in its blanket and tucked securely in Michelangelo's arms the baby quickly fell asleep. It had exhausted itself from crying for so long without anyone to hear it. Mikey adored how comfortably the little babe fit into the crook of his arms and cuddled it carefully to keep it warm as he walked. The journey back home seemed longer than they had originally thought but they had remembered the way back so they didn't have to worry about being lost.

Master Splinter was still gone when they got back so the four turtles set about making a small nest of warm blankets for the sleeping baby. Once that was done and the infant settled and still sleeping soundly the brothers also found themselves yawning. Within several minutes they had also fallen asleep in the nest of blankets, all four of them curling around the center where the baby rested, safe and protected.

A few hours later Master Splinter began to make his way back home to his sons with a full bag of food over his shoulder. The elderly rat was very pleased with how well he had done tonight. With the end of winter and the beginning of spring food was slowly becoming easier to find again. Splinter guessed that he had found enough to last them for a week at the very least. He had even found a found a warehouse that stored canned goods with poor security, and managed to find a large forgotten can of condensed milk as a treat for his sons.

Splinter twitched his ears for any sign of his sons as he got closer to home, but he could hear nothing of them. Though he remained outwardly calm the wizened rat gave an audible sigh of slight relief once he ducked through the hidden doorway and saw his boys sleeping. With silent footsteps the rat moved across the room and began to unpack the satchel of food. He was just putting away a can of peas when a noise caused him to freeze and stiffen in surprise. It was a cry he could recognise as coming from something still very small and helpless.

Splinter's sharp eyes came to rest on a wiggling green blanket in the center of the little bed his sons had made. Deftly, and with expert precision from raising four boys, he lifted the bundle from the center of the blanket nest. He flipped open the blanket and stared in surprise at what lay within, he slowly sat down in their single wooden chair being very careful not to jostle his burden. She was a tiny little thing, and Splinter could tell from how small she was that the little baby was hardly even a few days old. The baby gave a squawking cry of protest at being so suddenly exposed but quieted again once Splinter wrapped her up once more. The little girl whined and squirmed around to bury her face in his robe and clutch at a tuft of his fur in one small fist.

_'She has a strong grip this one.' _Splinter couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he held her close. However the biggest question on his mind was how she had gotten here, and to whom she belonged.

"Master Splinter, is that you?" called a sleepy voice behind him.

Four sleepy eyed turtle heads poked up from the blankets in various stages of alertness.

"Master Splinter's home!" Crowed Mikey as he leapt from his makeshift bed and rushed toward Splinter, sleep forgotten.

The baby in Master Splinter's arms kept Mikey from giving his customary welcome home tackle, but the young turtle still enthusiastically hugged his father's leg. The other three brothers toddled over and greeted their master, glad to see he was back. The baby squirmed and whined letting them all know she was not happy that her sleep was being repeatedly disturbed. Splinter shushed her and softly rocked her a little which soothed her back into a quiet state. Then he turned his attention back to his sons, who were looking equally bashful, nervous and apprehensive.

"My sons, where did you find this little one?"

The three eldest turtles shared a slightly apprehensive look, realizing that they had failed to come up with a reason there was suddenly a baby in their midst. They also recognised that Master Splinter was using the same voice he used when one or all of them were about to get in trouble. However Mikey, oblivious to his brothers' glances and his Master's tone of voice, answered for them.

"We found it in a storm drain." Mikey answered cheerfully before realizing his mistake and clapping a hand over his beak.

Splinter then gave the four of them such a look at had the whole truth tumbling out of them, almost faster than he could understand it. Once he had pieced together what was being said the old rat was torn between disciplining his sons for breaking the rules or rewarding them for saving the tiny infant, because without his sons it surely would have perished. She must have been washed in from above by the recent spring rains. Splinter could tell from the bowed heads and shuffling feet that his sons knew they had known the rules when they broke them. However, Splinter couldn't just ignore that they had only done so for a good reason.

"Clam yourselves my sons; you did the right thing in saving this little one. This baby would likely not be here if not for your actions."

The four turtles swelled with pride at their father's words and shared proud looks with their brothers. Master Splinter smiled at them for a moment before his smile turned into one of stern chastisement.

"But you will not break them again. Understood?"

Four heads nodded eagerly and obediently, recognising the warning in their Master's words. Splinter nodded, satisfied that his sons wouldn't break the rules for their safety lightly and without good reason.

"So… what is it?" Asked Donatello as he edged closer, curious as to what kind of thing they had found and saved from the sewer.

"And can we keep it?" Chirped Michelangelo.

"It is a girl, a little human girl."

Master Splinter's words were met with a gasp of surprise and cautious step back. Splinter had told them a number of cautionary tales so that they would be more wary of revealing themselves or attempting to go topside without him before they were ready. It saddened him to see that his words had instead given his sons a fear of humans, which had not been his intention.

"I thought humans were… bigger," said an apprehensive Leonardo.

"And scarier," muttered Mikey in a confused tone. To his two year old logic the baby was far too cute to be a human, humans after all were supposed to be big monsters that wanted to hurt them and take them away. The youngest turtle stepped forward again to get a better look at the tiny babe, squinting while trying to picture it as a human.

"She is just a baby my sons, and not all humans are bad."

A thought seemed to occur to Mikey, and he looked up to his father for the answer.

"Master Splinter? If she's just a baby, then where's her family?"

The rat had to bite back the sigh that wished to escape at the innocent question that came from his youngest son. How he wished he could shelter them from the harsh realities that surrounded them, but to do so would give them a false understanding of the world. And that could be even more dangerous to them than the truth.

"It would seem, Michelangelo that they did not wish to keep her." Splinter said sadly.

A spark of anger burned in the rats' heart at the sheer injustice of such an act of careless abandonment. This helpless child could no more choose to whom she was born to than a tree could choose the soil it grows in. Surely there were other places than the sewer to leave her; a hospital, orphanage, or even a random doorway would have been a better place to leave the poor baby. No, whoever had left the new-born would not have cared for her, and she was likely better off without that person. His four sons seemed to absorb his words and study the sleeping infant in silence. Master Splinter looked down sadly at the little babe dozing in his arms. The only remaining question was what to with her, and where she would go now.

"Master Splinter? Since she doesn't have a family, can we keep her?" Mikey asked eagerly.

The youngest turtle obviously had become attached in the short time since they had found her. The other three seemed unsure, yes they liked the baby but they hadn't known that it was a human and that made them hesitant. Splinter paused for a moment but shook his head, knowing that the sewer was no place for a human, let alone a baby.

"No my son, I don't believe we can."

Mikey didn't ask why but hung his head sadly knowing better than to contest Master Splinter's decision. The rat rose from his chair while being careful of the baby bundled in his arms. He knew that the sun would be rising soon and it would be best to have the infant under someone else's care soon. The sooner that happened the easier it would be to let go.

"Do not worry Michelangelo I will find someone who will take very good care of her. Why don't you and your brothers put away the food while I bring her topside. I will be back very soon."

All four turtles nodded, somewhat sad to see the baby go, knowing they would likely never see her again. Splinter hurried through the sewer tunnels as quickly as he could without disturbing the infant in his arms. The sun would do doubt be rising soon, so he would have to hurry if he was to go unnoticed. The wizened rat knew of one place, an orphanage, where he could leave the girl and know that she would be well cared for. Once he had gotten above with the baby he cautiously pulled the hood of his robe over his head and kept to the shadows. The sky was just beginning to lighten and the city was stirring, he would have to be quick. However even though Splinter knew in his head that this was the sensible course of action, he had trouble convincing his heavy heart of the same. It weighed down his feet, but did little to slow him.

The rat planned his route so that he eventually stood across the street from the orphanage well hidden in shadows. He carefully scanned the street, making sure it was empty and no one was looking out their window before quickly darting over the road and to the doorway of the orphanage. The infant whined as he gently set her down on the cold concrete, even though her blanket kept her warm from it. To keep her from crying out he kept a hand on her head so she could feel his touch while the other hand knocked firmly on the heavy wooden door. All the while asking himself if he was doing the right thing, after all, there was no guarantee that she would be well cared for. There was no promise that she would be loved in this place. Was it selfish to want to keep her, even if the sewer was hardly the place to raise a human infant?

His sharp ears could hear the creak of wood from within the household, signaling that someone was approaching. There was now no time for second guessing himself, a choice had to be made. Splinter tensed to disappear once again into the shadows and began to draw away from the doorway, leaving the tiny girl behind. However, before he could fully draw his hand away from the baby's head her own tiny fist wrapped around his finger in a strong grip. From under his hood Splinter looked down at the tiny babe and his breath froze in his chest.

A pair of clear green eyes, like glass beads, stared at him from her scrunched up face. Her breath hitched in a threat to cry but she didn't stop staring at him, and Splinter found that he couldn't look away. Splinter knew he should leave, he could hear someone approaching from within the orphanage to come and find the child, but his heart and the child's eyes wouldn't let him.

Master Yoshi had once said that there are no such thing as coincidences, Splinter's master had believed that everything happened for a reason and the giant mutated rat had come to believe that as well. How could he not after being transformed by strange ooze, granted intelligence and finding a new reason to live in his boys? It was because of his sons that this little one had been saved. Without them, who by all the laws of nature and science shouldn't exist, she would have surely died.

Without Michelangelo's keen ears to hear her cries she would have gone unheard. Deprived of Raphael's brash nerve to take that first step she would have gone ignored. Short of Donatello's intelligence she would have been found too late. And without Leonardo's fearlessness she would have drowned in the water. Was this all simply an accident, or was it perhaps fate?

The sound of a deadbolt and numerous locks being undone heralded the opening door. The door cracked open and an elderly lady with long gray hair and dressed in a blue nightgown peeked out from behind it. She swung the door open wide and scanned the empty street, but there was no sign of whoever had knocked. The doorstep and street beyond it was empty.

"I must be hearing things in my old age." She muttered to herself as she turned and closed the door behind her, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before the children woke for breakfast.

In the shadows of the ally across the street Splinter turned his gaze away from the door of the orphanage and back down to his new daughter. She still tightly gripped his finger, as if to make sure he wasn't going to try and leave her again. The rat chuckled and held her closer as he started making his way back home.

"Do not worry my child, I shall not leave you." Splinter whispered to her.

It was still very quiet when Splinter arrived back at his home for the second time that night. The food had been neatly put away as he had requested, but the atmosphere was much more subdued than before. Leonardo and Raphael were trying to play quietly but were often looking toward the corner where Michelangelo was sulking while Donatello tried to comfort him. Donny was the only one facing the door when Splinter entered and his face lit up when he saw the bundle in his arms. The intelligent young turtle elbowed his younger brother to get him to look up. Mikey jumped up with a gasp of excitement and dashed across the room toward his father with Donny close behind. Leo and Raph looked shocked to see the baby still with Splinter and hung back slightly.

"My sons, come and greet your little sister."

There was a beat of silence before Mikey began cheering, his blue eyes bright with joy. However his two eldest brothers seemed very uncertain of the newest addition to their little clan.

"But Master Splinter, it's a human." Protested Raphael and Splinter frowned sadly at his second eldest, hoping that such a trifling thing would not become a rift between his sons and daughter.

"Yes she is, but do you remember also what else I told you about humans? While most would not understand what we are, there are some nice humans. My old Master Yoshi was a human also and I his pet rat, remember? Not every human is bad my sons, and I believe that we can show her how to be a good human. However, I will need your help to do so after all, she will need her older brothers to protect her and teach her right from wrong."

The four young turtles shared different looks; doubt, uncertainty, anticipation, and determination all finding a place somewhere in their faces. The infant broke the fragile moment with a hungry cry. After the night she had had it was no wonder that she was all but starving. Splinter bounced her soothingly as he maneuvered around the room. He was very grateful that he was a bit of a packrat and managed to find an old bottle he had used when his sons were very small. Using the condensed milk he had found earlier that night and the small hot plate he had salvaged to cook their meals Splinter quickly made her a bottle of warm milk. The tiny girl suckled hungrily while her brothers watched, fascinated by the process of her feeding.

"Would one of you like to try feeding her?" Splinter asked.

Leonardo and Raphael shook their heads, seeming nervous just by the suggestion. To Splinter's surprise it was Donatello who shyly volunteered.

"M-may I feed her master Splinter?"

The old rat smiled, "Of course."

Splinter had Donny sit on the wooded chair and placed the babe in his arms and lap. The infant whined at having been moved and it's still half full bottle taken away and Donatello looked slightly alarmed to be holding her.

"Be careful of her head." Master Splinter told him as he passed Donatello the bottle.

Donny took the container and with wide eyes and careful hands began to feed his newest sibling. The other turtles crowded around talking softly and brushing the babies soft black curls. Splinter smiled at the sight, but then a thought occurred to him. What was he going to call her? This green eyed infant still needed a name after all, something as special and unique as she was. The elderly rat quietly padded over to a wooden chest, careful not to disturb the precious scene behind him.

From the cracked trunk Splinter pulled out a familiar tattered book titled; _Famous Artists of the Renaissance_. The pages were fragile and water damaged, the binding all but falling apart and some pages were just simply gone, but even so it was one of Splinter's most prized possessions. After all, it was from this book that he had named his four boys, so it only made sense to follow the tradition and do the same for his daughter.

There were many artists during the Renaissance, but even back then very few of them were feminine. Splinter carefully turned the brittle pages, looking for just the right name for the newest member of his family. The old rat's eyes brightened as he turned to a particularly damaged page. There were very few words about this artist that were still legible but the name at the top of the page remained intact. Splinter looked over to where his family was getting to know their new little sister.

"Hamato Levina." Splinter whispered to himself, feeling the name on his tongue while looking at his daughter and deemed that it suited her. Splinter smiled, knowing that it mattered very little if all this was simple coincidence or fate. He would always love his sons, and daughter.

"Welcome home Levina."

* * *

><p><strong>Tada! There's the first chapter anyway. What do you think about her name? I just looked up female renaissance artists and that was the first one, so I decided not to agonize over name choice and roll with it. Thoughts? Comments? If some of you are wondering as to the (perhaps) unusual indecisiveness of Splinter I think I explained it well enough but if not let me know. <strong>

**To those who are also reading my romance stories for Leo and Donnie (I have ideas for romances for Raph and Mikey as well) I have a question. Should I link them, or have them be totally separate? Food for thought let me know in the reviews if you're out there. The point of view for ****_this_**** story will eventually become Levina's but since she's just a baby for the moment (and the next few chapters) it may jump around a little. I hope you all like this so far and please don't forget to review!**


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